A second U.S. national has been killed in Ukraine while fighting with Ukrainian armed forces against Russia’s ongoing unprovoked invasion launched on February 24.
The U.S. State Department confirmed to The Washington Post on June 20 that Stephen Zabielski, 52, was killed near the village of Dorozhnyanka in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region on May 15.
No other details on Zabielski's death were provided.
In late April, another U.S. national, 22-year-old former U.S. Marine Will Cancel was killed in Ukraine, his relatives told journalists.
Last week, Russian news agencies reported that two former members of the U.S. military, Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, both from Alabama, had been captured during a fight near Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast.
They are among hundreds of foreigners from the West who have volunteered to fight for Ukraine since Russia launched the invasion.
On June 9, two Britons, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and a Moroccan national, Saaudun Brahim, were sentenced to death by Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk for "mercenary activities." All three say they were serving in the Ukrainian military when they were captured by pro-Russian separatists.
Britain, the United Nations, Ukraine, and Germany have condemned the death sentences.
Aslin's family said he and Pinner were living in Ukraine when the war broke out and "as members of Ukrainian armed forces, should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war."
The father of Saaudun Brahim said on June 13 that his son has Ukrainian citizenship and should be treated accordingly.